On today's show Keramet Reiter join the Felony Friday show to discuss the horrible suffering endured by inmates resulting from the incredibly barbaric solitary confinement epidemic in this country. Keramet has worked as an associate at Human Rights Watch and has testified about the impacts of solitary confinement before state and federal legislators. She has studied prisons, prisoners’ rights, and the impact of prison and punishment policy on individuals, communities, and legal systems. Keramet is the author of the outstanding book, 23/7: Pelican Bay Prison and the Rise of Long-Term Solitary Confinement, which exposes the inhumane practice of solitary confinement in U.S. prison.

What we talked about:

Keramet shares what drew her towards the field of criminal justice and eventually a career in academia.

She discusses the factors that led to the rise of solitary confinement and explains why she decided to write a book about this oft overlooked topic.

Keramet reveals some stories from the book of inmates who endured massive suffering and abuse.

She explains how a handful of inmates in solitary confinement initiated a hunger strike to bring attention to their plight. Eventually more that 30,000 inmates joined the hunger strike to support the cause.

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